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The Dallas Cowboys season in 60 seconds: Watch

Rookies Dak Prescott and Zeke Elliott emerge as stars during an 11-game win streak, leading to a 13-3 regular-season record. But a gut-wrenching divisional-round loss to the Packers kept the Cowboys from advancing in the post season.

Rookies Dak Prescott and Zeke Elliott emerge as stars during an 11-game win streak, leading to a 13-3 regular-season record. But a gut-wrenching divisional-round loss to the Packers kept the Cowboys from advancing in the post season. Star-Telegram photosEditing by Mark Hoffer

Rookies Dak Prescott and Zeke Elliott emerge as stars during an 11-game win streak, leading to a 13-3 regular-season record. But a gut-wrenching divisional-round loss to the Packers kept the Cowboys from advancing in the post season. Star-Telegram photosEditing by Mark Hoffer

Jones said the Cowboys have a great opportunity in the draft to not only replace the players they lost but also upgrade the talent to take the much needed step forward toward a Super Bowl berth for the first time since 1995.

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Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford discusses a variety of topics as he did a community event with local kids. Video by Drew Davison.

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The Cowboys have covered themselves with some modest free agent signings, including guard Jonathan Cooper, tackle Byron Bell, cornerback Nolan Carroll and guard Stephen Paea. Carroll is the only presumed starter of the newcomers.

We are not going to get any better on defense if we just keep paying the guys we got. ... Obviously we haven’t been doing that with the guys we got. So how do you get better if you keep paying the guys you got who aren’t making plays on the ball a lot of money?

Stephen Jones

Again, Jones said the defensive heavy draft will offer opportunities to upgrade. It was all part of the team’s consideration as it approached free agency.

“People say our biggest issue and the thing that keeps us from winning a championship is the lack of (defense),” Jones said. “We didn’t have the players to be a great defense.

“Hopefully we can address that (in the draft). Now I am not going to say we are going to sit here and pick for need. But I will say before we started free agency we took a snapshot of the draft and knew that it was deep in the defensive line, deep in the secondary. We knew that was the ability to really improve ourselves there.”

He said the Cowboys put price points on all of their free agents. If they surpassed that, then so be it.

Jones also says that change might be good for the maligned Cowboys’ defense because the players they lost weren’t difference-makers, and thus weren’t worthy of overpaying.

“We are not going to get any better on defense if we just keep paying the guys we got,” Jones said. “What we have to do better on defense is we have to get pressure on the passer. And we have to make plays on the ball. We have to do that better.

“Obviously we haven’t been doing that with the guys we got. So how do you get better if you keep paying the guys you got who aren’t making plays on the ball a lot of money?”